1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to ashtrays and more specifically to apparatus used in conjunction with ashtrays for filtering and deodorizing the smoke associated with ashtrays.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known that smoke producing objects, such as cigarettes and cigars, are commonly deposited on ashtrays and the smoke from these objects tends to permeate the air of the environment and produce a disagreeable ordor. Furthermore, it is known that the smoke from these objects can be hazardous to the health of not only the person smoking the object, but also to persons who must breathe the smoke in the environment. For these reasons, it is desirable to filter and deodorize the smoke which emanates from these objects, particularly when they are deposited in an ashtray. It is also known that the smoke deposits which form on surfaces contacted by smoke, i.e., filters, build up a residue which is considered objectionable and possibly dangerous since the residue contains those same suspect chemical components as does the smoke.
Various devices have been provided for filtering the smoke of cigarettes and the like when deposited in an ashtray. Such a device is disclosed by Gilbertson in U.S. Pat. No. 3,516,232, issued on June 23, 1970. This device consists of a stand supporting an ashtray and also supporting a housing and motorized fan above the ashtray. In this device, the housing defines a passageway and the associated fan generates a flow of air through the passageway. The housing also supports a filter between the fan and the ashtray.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,466 discloses a smoke incinerating device in which the unburned components of tobacco smoke are incinerated so that the incinerated residue is discharged.
These devices have been particularly elaborate and therefore expensive to manufacture. In addition, they have been relatively bulky so that their size has significantly increased the normal size of an ashtray. Furthermore, the devices have not been particularly effective in filtering the smoke associated with the ashtray. The displacement of the filter from the ashtray has been of such a distance that only a small portion of the smoke has been drawn through the filter.
In some devices, a shroud has been provided to channel the smoke from the ashtray into the filter. However, even this shroud has been displaced from the ashtray so that a portion of the smoke has passed unfiltered into the environment.
The filters associated with the devices of the prior art have been relatively large providing a significant surface area transverse to the flow of air, but only a minimal thickness in the direction of the flow of air. Thus, these filters have not been particularly effective in sorbing or otherwise removing the smoke from the flow of air.
In the devices of the prior art, the fan and the associated motor for driving the fan have both been disposed within the passageway through which the smoke travels. This has had no particularly adverse effect upon the fan, but the motor has become contaminated with the smoke fumes.